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Aluminum Brew Pot?
I just recently bought my starter kit and was talking to the owner of the brew store about brewing. He told me a turkey fryer is a great brewing set up. When I asked him about brewing in aluminum he said that all the negitive talk about using it was false.
I have a turkey fryer I received from my in-laws for Christmas years ago that I never even broke out of the box until this morning. What are your comments, cautions, thoughts, and ideas on using a thirty quart turkey fryer for brewing?
I have a turkey fryer that I use and love. The kettle is aluminum but it doesn't mess up anything, no off flavors, or any of the other stuff people talk about. There are a few consideration to take into account though. When cleaning, don't use bleach or any abrasive pads. The inside of the pot will build up a protective layer.
I can second the use of aluminum. I have a turkey fryer as well, and with the two batches I've made, there's been no problem. No metallic taste at all. To clean it, I use a little dish soap, and a sponge...no scrubbing hard or any abrasives either as mentioned....
I have used my turkey fryer for my last 3 batches, and the aluminum pot that came with it. I have seen no ill effects of using it. And ditto on the non-abrasive cleaning.
If you use it too much though you may get alzheimers... or is it chix pox?... I can't remember. But anyway I've been using aluminum a lot, except for when I use stainless.
Can you use PBW on the aluminum as well?
I often finish my brew sessions late at night and sometimes leave the pot until the next moring to clean. Then I am lazy after that and usually just heat up a PBW solution and let it soak another day.
If you can't scrub aluminum, then an extended soak in PBW would make life easy.(I don't srub anything in my brewery anyway. I did mention I was lazy right?)
I have a keg conversion kettle and a 10 gallon stainless pot. But I'll like to get another high volume pot and would rather spend cheap money on aluminum than continue to add to my SS army of pots.
From my fourteen years as a professional cook, I know that many restaurants do not use aluminum unless it is Teflon coated, as high temperatures with acidic (perhaps base), salty, or any temperature with alcohol causes aluminum to leech particles into the material you are cooking.
Science suggests that over-exposure to particulated aluminum can aid the development of Alzheimer's, but thats not the point...
beer cans were steel until they figured out how to coat aluminum with acrylic because it made the beer taste funny. Nowadays, and especially if you are only using it to boil the wort, it is probably not bad for you, but the culinary industry sure seems to think that aluminum breaks down and enters food easily, so I don't own any.
-R
i never know how much of the aluminum-alzheimer debate to believe, but i use stainless steel just in case.
Hey, thanks for all the input guys.
The Alzhiemers I'm not worried about, I'll either get it or I won't. When I was a kid I daily drank out of aluminum glasses that had oxidization ulsers in the bottom of them as well as an aluminum canteen I was given when I was about ten that always had that powdery white stuff in it.
It's a little late for me to be worrying about it now...
I was concerned about off flavors and care instructions mostly. A lot of good info was passed along just on these responces, thank you very much.
Oh and tomorrow is my first brew day. I am starting with a Cream Ale kit - Robar
Well good luck with your first brew!!